The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 225
The stone monkey hesitated for a moment.

"You're lying to me." The stone monkey's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Huh?" The Seven Fairies were taken aback; they couldn't quite keep up with the Stone Monkey's train of thought.

“I asked you earlier if you considered me a friend, and you said yes,” the stone monkey said. “Although I have never made any friends, I did have fellow disciples when I was learning my skills. When they watched me perform magic, they all talked on and on.”

"Old Sun also has six sworn brothers. We became friends through a fight, and when we occasionally get together, we always have a feast, drinking and laughing, talking and laughing all night long, sometimes for months on end," said the stone monkey.

“They never felt tired. Friends and brothers should be similar. You just asked me if I was tired…” Stone Monkey said.

Can friends and brothers really connect like this?
The seven fairies' eyelids twitched twice.

“Your brothers…” The Seventh Fairy carefully chose her words, then suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped talking. If she continued, the monkey would keep asking questions. So she changed the subject, “What I mean is, I feel tired.”

“You don’t feel tired because you have profound cultivation, but I can’t. My magic power is shallow, and I was just captured by you and brought here. Although I have a physical body to rely on temporarily, my spirit and body are not in harmony. Since I woke up, I have been listening to you talking. I really can’t hold on any longer and want to rest for a while.”

“We are friends. Friends cannot be without communication, but communication is not the only thing we can do. Shouldn’t we also show each other consideration?” the Fifth Fairy said.

“That makes sense. I’m just too careless and didn’t think of that for a moment. You should rest.” The stone monkey seemed to understand. He was convinced, relaxed, and scratched his head.

The seven fairies closed their eyes for a short rest.

The stone monkey truly shut its mouth and stopped speaking, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

The seven fairies breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment they felt a little uncomfortable. Was it because they had been listening to the stone monkey's chatter for too long and had become accustomed to it?
My thoughts began to wander involuntarily.

The seven fairies suddenly remembered the boy next door when they were in the mortal world. At the time, they just thought the boy was a bit unruly. They were somewhat dismissive of the chaos when the aunt disciplined him. Now that it was their turn, they realized that the aunt's temper was actually quite good.

A half-grown child, hated by both people and dogs.

The Seventh Fairy couldn't help but think of her own children. In a few years, her Little Gold and Little Silver would be old enough to grow up. Would they turn into the same creature as this monkey then?

Probably not.

After all, her little gold and silver dogs are so well-behaved.

Moreover, it is indeed rare for a monkey to be hundreds of years old and still have the personality of a child. Perhaps the one in the aunt's house is not as naughty as imagined. After all, the stone monkey itself is an exception, and perhaps he is the only one who is particularly difficult to deal with.

The Seven Fairies then thought of Ding Lin, who was also born as a demon from the mortal realm. Although he was not even as old as the Stone Monkey, he was very organized and reasonable in his dealings with people.

When one's name is recorded in the register of immortals, their bone age will be revealed naturally.

Yes, the monkey must be an isolated case.

The Seven Fairy Maidens certainly knew that Ding Lin's maturity was due to his innate wisdom, while someone like the Stone Monkey was actually the normal one.

Everything in the world has its own trajectory.

From birth, people are taught by their parents through words and deeds, and later by their teachers. Through countless cycles of evolution, they have developed their own system, which is passed down in an orderly manner. If they are wrong, they will be corrected; if they are right, they will be encouraged. Therefore, at most a dozen years or so, they can form a complete set of values.

Demons are different; they belong to a separate system. Before they develop intelligence, they are naturally confused and ignorant, merely plants and animals, and are not considered demons.

When they are awakened and their minds are developed, before the seven souls are formed, they are driven more by instinct, brave and fierce, the law of the jungle, or enslaved or eaten.

Only a very small number of demons can cultivate an inner core. At this stage, the seven souls gradually emerge, and the demon race begins to develop emotions. However, due to the harsh environment in which they grow, most of their energy is still spent on survival.

Until one achieves the primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit is called a great demon, and in the mortal realm, it already ranks among the rulers of the demon race. More importantly, only at the primordial spirit realm can a demon fully transform into a human. Only at this stage can they mingle among humans. Ninety-nine percent of great demons have had experience living among humans; they remember what they see and hear, and then secretly study and learn from it. Savagery has always yearned for civilization.

When the stone monkey went to sea to seek a master, he mingled in human cities, partly as a means of travel, but more so because of his longing for it. Unlike those great demons, who could transform into human form, the monkey, although he looked like a human, was ultimately just a resemblance, not a human in form.

Every species is xenophobic, and as an outsider, what you see and how you are treated will naturally be completely different.

This led to a situation where the stone monkey, though aware of what he had seen, was convinced by his own experience that what he had witnessed was wrong. Consequently, he became biased and filled with resentment.

You can't say he doesn't know, but you also can't say he understands.

If it were an ordinary demon, after experiencing this, due to the slow pace of cultivation, it wouldn't be a problem. They might die on the path of cultivation, and those who didn't die would eventually understand as time went by. Compared to their cultivation speed, by the time they matured and understood, their realm might not have changed. In comparison, that long period of time would be insignificant.

The stone monkey was different. Born from the stone that mended the sky, he had an extraordinary background. From the beginning of his cultivation, he made rapid progress with unstoppable momentum. Even after the Bodhi Patriarch tempered his temperament for seven years, he still achieved immortality in just three years. After ten years, he descended the mountain and became a demon king.

One's own mindset cannot keep up with one's level of understanding.

The enhancements from the "Great Celestial Immortal Technique" gave the stone monkey extraordinary martial prowess, making him virtually unmatched among the demon kings. His fists were his power, and his flawed ideas were suppressed by the powerful magic, so no one dared to question them. He took everyone's fear as understanding, thought he was right, and became complacent.

In fact, they were unaware of their own mistakes.

The Seven Fairy Maidens were right; the Stone Monkey was indeed an exceptional case, because apart from him, there was no one in the Three Realms who could cultivate so quickly.

Going back further, similarly, there was the reincarnation of Lingzhu, and perhaps Nezha could be considered one.

After a while of wild thoughts, the Seventh Fairy Maiden finally readjusted to the quiet. Her eyelids trembled, and she was about to take a closer look at the Fifth Fairy Maiden's body so that it would be easier for her to be moved.

"that……"

Suddenly, the stone monkey's voice rang in my ears again.

The seven fairies' emotions, which had just calmed down, were shattered again. Her eyebrows twitched violently, and she opened her eyes to look at the stone monkey with icy eyes.

After spending some time together, the Seven Fairies thought they had come to understand the Stone Monkey somewhat; he was naive and ignorant of worldly affairs, but his nature wasn't actually bad.

Because of this, and because she was reminded of the childlike innocence that the stone monkey inadvertently revealed, which made her think of the gold and silver oxen, she barely managed to restrain herself and speak kindly to the stone monkey. Otherwise, she would have crushed the jade pendant at her waist the moment she realized she had been harmed.

Now it seems she was wrong.

Even after things had been said to this extent, the monkey still interfered. He truly didn't understand human relationships and social customs, but it was doubtful that he was inherently good. This behavior was clearly selfish and self-serving, relying on his magical power to only care about himself.

The cold light in the eyes of the seven fairies startled the stone monkey.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The stone monkey subconsciously smoothed the fur on his left arm with his right paw.

"Are you angry?" the stone monkey asked with a grin.

The seven fairies simply looked at him without saying a word.

“I, Old Sun, didn’t wake you up on purpose,” the stone monkey said somewhat aggrievedly. “I just suddenly remembered that your soul has been captured by me for so long, and it should be barely able to be accepted by your body by now. You still feel uncomfortable…” the stone monkey asked cautiously, “Are you injured?”

The seven fairies stared blankly.

The stone monkey flipped its hand, and a jade bottle appeared in its palm, its heart gleaming.

"I woke you up so you could eat this Soul Pill first," the stone monkey said.

(End of this chapter)